Apple and Disney will always have a connection thanks to the late Steve Jobs
In 2006 Steve Jobs sold Pixar to Disney for $7.4 billion in Disney stock
And of course, there is always the Steve Jobs connection to Disney thanks to Pixar. Jobs was co-founder and also was the CEO of the computer animation house when it released its first big hit, “Toy Story.” And Jobs’ was at the helm of Pixar when it was purchased by Disney in 2006 for $7.4 billion. The all-stock deal left Jobs and subsequently his estate as the largest individual stockholder in the House of Mouse for several years.
In a note to clients, Ives wrote, “[T]he massive appetite for live sports content remains the laser focus for Cupertino now to boost its streaming future and further tap into its massive installed base of 2 billion iOS devices worldwide. We believe the answer and the shoe that fits for Apple is the golden ESPN assets which potentially may be on the table in one form or another as Iger and the Board strategically and carefully look at Disney’s core assets over the coming months.”
Wedbush’s Ives is telling clients that ESPN is more attractive to Apple than Disney as a whole
What the analyst is saying is that ESPN “is much more attractive” to Apple than Disney as a whole because it would give Apple access to valuable sports content and help it boost its live streaming of major sporting events while cross-promoting Apple TV+.
